


A Special Kind Of Candy

by Huntress79



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, First Kiss, Getting Together, Halloween, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Sam Wilson Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 14:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21163511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress79/pseuds/Huntress79
Summary: It’s supposed to be “just” a way to teach the Wakandians about the tradition of Halloween, but for Bucky and Sam, it might turn out to be so much more.





	A Special Kind Of Candy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JunoChipmunk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JunoChipmunk/gifts).

> Written for Shipoween and FrozenPanther, who requested Sam/Bucky. I mixed some of your prompts and ideas together XD Set post-Endgame, with Bucky going back to the simple life he had in Wakanda before the snap. Hope you like it!

*********************

Emerging from the cool interior of the palace to the, rather bearable, heat surrounding the landing pad, Okoye couldn’t help but grin when she saw Sam Wilson commanding some of the new recruits for the Dora Milaje around. Usually, they weren’t used to have some stranger giving them orders, but ever since T’Challa began to open the land to the world, they had to adapt as well. And of course, Captain Rogers and his friends would have been exceptions to everything without that step anyway.

As soon as she was closer to the cargo bay of the Quinjet, her eyes widened. Like Shuri, Okoye had a great appreciation for all things American, but while the young royal was more into fashion and music, the General’s preferences lay more in a culinary direction. Both her mother and grandmother were incredible cooks, and while she prided herself on being able to whip up pretty much every dish they knew here in Wakanda, she always wanted to expand her horizons. Apparently, her wish was somehow granted now.

“Sam! What’s that all about?” she asked once she was at the new Captain’s side, causing him to jump just a little bit.

“Hi!” Sam couldn’t quite hide a blush creeping up his neck, visible despite his dark skin. “You mean this all?” He made a motion with his arm, encompassing all the boxes still around him, some of them filled with pumpkins of all sizes.

“Yeah. Did you inherit a pumpkin farm, or what?” Okoye asked with a straight face.

“No, not at all.” He paused, a sly smile spreading on his face. “Say, General, have you ever heard of the old tradition of Halloween?”

*********************

An hour later, not only Okoye, but every member of the council, including M’Baku, Shuri and Ramonda, knew all that was there to know about Halloween and how the Americans celebrated it. Sure, Sam told them that he didn’t ask for them to adapt _every_ aspect of it, but he hoped that, with time, some of these aspects would weave themselves into Wakandian tradition, as much as the people would love to have them.

“So, Wilson, what is this ʻTrick-or-Treatingʼ you mentioned before?” M’Baku asked, curiosity written all over his face.

“To be honest, this is one of my favorite parts of Halloween,” Sam replied with a wide smile. “Usually, it’s for children, with the grown-ups being more kind of guardians and keeping them in check over the duration of that evening, but I think we could extend it to everyone here.”

“I’ve heard about it before,” Shuri piped up, “but what really does happen during that evening?”

“Well, the kids dress up, either as a favorite character or as anything considered scary, like a witch, or a ghost, or a vampire. Then, they grab a small bucket, either self-made, as it was it when I was a kid, or a themed, bought one, like in the shape of a pumpkin. Together with their parents/guardians, they go from door to door, usually in their closer neighbourhood, and if someone opens the door, they tell that person ʻtrick or treatʼ, which means that they either get some candy or play a, usually, harmless trick to them. 9 out of 10 adults happening to open the door come prepared, meaning they already have some candy stored near the door and hand them out.”

“And what happens to all the candy the kids gather on that tour?” T’Challa threw in, the soft smile playing around his lips telling Sam that he already had a hunch.

“If possible, the kids eat as much as they can that evening, some of them even reverting to hiding some in their rooms so that the parents can’t find them. If there’s still some left when the kids conk out from all the sugar, the parents either divide it among themselves, or they use it in the kitchen for making some desserts.”

“That sounds like fun!” Shuri exclaimed, and no one around the throne could keep a grin from spreading. “Oh, Sam, does Bucky know about that tradition?”

“Guess so, since he grew up in Brooklyn, but I’m not sure if he still remembers it. I’m about to head out to his hut, though, and I’m gonna ask him about it.”

*********************

With the meeting finished and the council agreeing to whip up some trick-and-treating for the people, Sam took a moment to return to his quarters at the palace, needing some moments to think about things. Ever since Steve made the decision for them all and declared them “fugitives” (don’t get him wrong, he would follow Rogers into the same fray over and over again, even if the result would always be the same) all those years ago, Sam felt kind of a pull towards Barnes. Which was totally whacked, in his semi-professional opinion; after all, the same man had tried to kill him several times within the span of just a few days back in Washington. But, as a voice that sounded a hell lot like Riley pointed out in his brain, Bucky didn’t do that all out of his own malice, but because he was a puppet with some very evil handlers pulling his strings. And now, with Steve dumping them both rather unceremoniously for going back to a chick he thought he was in love with, who was there to stop them from making a complete new start and get to know each other properly?

“Captain,” Ayo’s voice came through the speaker near the door, “I have a skybike waiting for you on the main landing pad, ready to take you to Mr. Barnes’ location. Do you wish to take anything with you?”

“Yeah,” Sam answered, feeling somewhat reminded of what Steve and Natasha once had told him about the AI running the Stark Tower, “but not much. It’ll fit in a backpack. And I always can come back for more, right?”

“Absolutely,” Okoye’s second in command agreed. “As I said, we’re ready when you are.” And with that, Sam’s room fell quiet again.

*********************

When he finally got around to head back to the landing pad, the sun was already beginning to set, sending the first golden-orange rays over both city and mountains, giving them a special touch that never, ever ceased to amaze Sam anew. One of the many new members of the Dora Milaje was waiting near the skybike, taking both backpacks from Sam and securing them in a closed compartment at the back of the bike before settling into the driver’s seat. Sam followed suit, strapping himself in and nodding to her to get started.

Pretty soon, the already familiar lake came into view, and even from above, Sam felt a new kind of calmness sweeping over him. He totally could understand why Bucky all but fled back to this place, especially after that stunt Rogers pulled on them all. What was that guy thinking, after all? Did he really thought that Bucky would be happy if he went back and, more or less, destroyed the life Peggy Carter had built up for herself for his own selfishness? Or that Bucky would just grin and bear it, being left behind like a cheap date just shortly after coming back from the dead? Taking a deep breath, Sam focused his thoughts on the man itself. Thinking about Rogers only made his blood boil, and he definitely didn’t need that right now.

Exiting the skybike, he grabbed the backpacks and thanked the pilot before strolling towards the small village. Some of the kids were waving at him, recognizing him from earlier visits.

At long last, Bucky’s hut came into view, and somehow, the sight that greeted Sam’s eyes all but made his heart melt into a puddle of goo. Bucky was sitting on the floor near the entry, a baby goat in his arms, and while Sam couldn’t understand what the other man was saying to the small animal, he could not only see the man’s lips moving, he also all but felt the softness, tenderness emanating from the former assassin. Who would have thought that all back when they encountered him for the first time?

“You’ll become a new version of Dr. Doolittle if you keep that up, Barnes,” Sam finally quipped when he was close enough. And to his rather big surprise, the other man apparently hadn’t see or hear him approach at all.

“Wilson, what you’re doing here?” Bucky asked, a frown forming on his forehead. “Shouldn’t you be with your family, celebrating Halloween?”

“You remember that holiday?” Frankly, Sam was a bit surprised. Sure, Bucky had made tremendous progress before the snap, against all odds, but he knew that recovery of any kind, but especially of the brain, wasn’t linear and that his friend was bound to have chunks of his memory lost for forever.

“Are you kidding?” Finally, Bucky looked up at Sam, his grey-blue eyes sparkling. “That was one of my favorite holidays as a kid. Sure, we never had as much candy as the kids get these days, but still, we got to dress up, even if our ʻcostumesʼ were either one of mother’s old dresses or made of various strips of fabric. But what counted the most, at least to me and other kids in our street, was the fun we had that evening.” He chuckled, causing the goat in his lap to protest slightly. “And by God, we were menaces! I still can’t believe with how much crap we managed to get away with alone that night.”

“Really?” Sam challenged while sitting down next to Bucky. “You gotta tell me all about it.”

“Yeah,” Bucky paused, heaving a sigh, and within a heartbeat, Sam knew that his mood was about to change, “maybe another time.” Translation: a lot of these memories included a certain person, and Sam immediately felt like an idiot to even bring it up.

“Sorry, man, I didn’t realize…”

“Don’t sweat it, Sam.” Bucky locked gazes with the other man. “It just might take some time to wrap my mind around that all, but don’t start treating me like a delicate flower.”

“You know I won’t do that, Bucky, but still, I should have more common sense than that.” The goat piped up again, trying to get their attention. “What’s wrong with her?” Sam asked, trying to change the subject.

“This pipsqueak here has been abandoned by her own mother, can you believe it?” The goat made kind of an agreeing sound, causing Bucky to coo at her – which in turn brought that somewhat strange feeling from earlier back to Sam. What the heck was going on?

“Things happen, mate,” Sam finally gave back, and try as he might, he couldn’t resist any longer and began to pet the baby goat slightly on the head.

“Is she…?” he asked incredulous once some purring-like sounds were coming from the pampered animal.

“Yep, she’s purring,” Bucky confirmed with a smile that, as Sam noticed with a quick glance, almost reached his eyes. “According to one of the villagers, this kind of goats is able to do that. Guess you won’t get attacked by lions if you sound like one, or so.”

“Or so,” Sam echoed, and for several minutes, the only sounds came from the nature around them.

“So, Wilson, if you’re not back home celebrating with your blood family, why is your sorry ass parked here on Wakandian soil?”

“Ha, ha, very funny, Barnes,” Sam huffed, though there was no fire behind it. And if he was completely honest, he kept asking that himself, ever since he grabbed the Quinjet and filled it with all the Halloween paraphernalia. “I… I’m not completely sure, but I guess I wanted…”

“What, Sam? What did you want?” There was no pressure in Bucky’s voice, only open concern for a friend. And that was probably even more than Sam ever could ask for.

“I mean, we have this wonderful tradition of trick-and-treating in the USA, and maybe I wanted to bring it to a bunch of people who took us all in when we had nowhere to go, knowing that there might be consequences for them all just for that alone.”

“If you say so, okay, but something tells me that that’s only part of the truth, right?”

_Dang it_, Sam thought, _when had Bucky learned to read him so well?_

“Yeah, maybe, but I can’t burden you with that other part…”

“Says who?” Bucky threw in. “Just tell me, and let me decide if it’s worth for my brain to keep it or not.”

“Alright, but I totally understand if you don’t want to see me ever again afterwards.”

“Spill it, Wilson, cause even if you have killed someone who didn’t deserve it in the first place, you won’t lose me as a friend.” All of a sudden, Bucky reached over with his flesh arm, laying his hand on Sam’s forearm, and the former pararescue had to put up quite a fight not to jump from this sudden touch. “I know we had the worst start of all, but still, you can trust me, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that.” Sam had to take several calming breaths, both to counter the effect Bucky’s hand had on him and to steel himself for what he was about to say.

Apparently, his body decided to betray him in some kind of way, cause suddenly, Bucky let out a gasp, followed by a deep, yet warm chuckle.

“Oh gosh, you have the hots for someone!” He punched Sam on the shoulder, this time using his metal arm, though the punch was so light that Sam barely felt it.

“Yes, I do, but since when do you know words like ʻgoshʼ?”

“That,” Bucky gave back with a smile, “happens when you’re close friends with a young, energetic bundle named Shuri.”

“She’s definitely a bad influence for you, if she’s teaching you such words.”

“Nah, can’t be worse than what I grew up with. Or did you think we didn’t have any vulgar language back in the 1930s and 1940s?”

“No, not at all. Though a certain person’s manner would have made you think otherwise.”

“Thought so, but enough of him. Back to you – who’s the lucky gal? Or is it a guy? Anyway, whoever gets you is one damn lucky person.”

“What? What makes you say something? Despite everything, you barely know me.”

“And that’s where you’re wrong, Wilson,” Bucky said with a wink that send some shivers down Sam’s spine. “As soon as you showed up on our radar back in Washington, Command dug up everything that was to find about you. By the time of the Helicarrier fight, I knew all about your military career, about Riley, about your family.” He took a steadying breath, and now it was Sam’s turn to put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “If I remember correctly, Command wanted me to use your family as leverage, maybe even kill them, to make you, and subsequently, everyone else declare defeat and surrender.”

“But you didn’t,” Sam began, “and that was probably the first sign of the ʻoldʼ Bucky breaking through the programming.”

“Maybe, but we’ve strayed again. What’s that what you don’t wanna tell me? And to answer your question about what makes me say something like that – despite everything HYDRA did to me, they couldn’t erase one thing – my ability to read people. Helps you not only when you’re placed high up as a sniper in a warzone, it also helps in day-to-day life.”

“Okay, here goes nothing. And I want to add that while I’m aware of these things, I don’t want to force your hand, so to speak. If you don’t experience the same or at the same level as I do, I won’t hold it against you. As you said, we’re still friends. And that’s already more than I can ask for these days.”

“Gosh, Wilson, stop being a sap and start talking,” Bucky said exasperated, though the slight crinkles around his eyes told Sam otherwise. The former assassin was enjoying this all very much.

“As you wish, Sergeant. I… I have feelings for you,” Sam said in a rush, “feelings that might go deeper, like way deeper, than friendship.”

“That’s it?” Bucky asked with a raised eyebrow. “Sweet Mary, kids these days are so dense sometimes.”

“What? Why?” Try as he might, Sam wasn’t quite able to follow Bucky’s logic.

“Simple, pal,” Bucky began with a shrug while scooting closer to the other man, and only then Sam noticed that the baby goat had abandoned them at some point. Huh.

Bucky stopped his train of thought by grabbing his chin, turning Sam’s head around until he was able to look him in the eye. “Simple, because I feel the same for you, Wilson. I… I don’t know how and when that all happened to change, or what I’m really able to do in a relationship anymore, but I’m more than willing to give it a try. You’re in, _Captain_?”

“Hell yes,” Sam breathed, “you can bet your lil’ white ass that I’m in, all in.” And before Bucky could say anything else, Sam closed the short distance and kissed him with all his might.

*********************

**The End and Happy Halloween!**

*********************


End file.
